Zahin's Intended (Sukaraian Warriors Book 1) (8 page)

Tula

Chapter 18

     “He marked her!  He marked HER!  I can’t believe it.  And not only that, he let her mark him!  That means that he will be faithful to HER!”  Tula mumbled as she left the Galley.  She had been so close with Zahin and Dar all these planet cycles.  Of course she had made sure she was always there and they thought she was a trusted friend.  She had worked hard and all she wanted was to be queen.  She just knew he would pick her.  Now it was all ruined!  All those years of hard work.  She had always made sure she was in the right place.  “If that Earth bitch thought she was just going to give up, she had another thing coming.  I didn’t work this long to give up now.”  She mumbled.  She had to come up with a plan.

Zahin

     Eliana and I made our way to my quarters.  I noticed that she was quiet after the Tula encounter.   I knew I had more explaining to do, and I was not looking forward to that.  I knew Eliana had heard Tula call her queen and now I would have to explain that I was next in line.  I knew how every other female would react, but not my Eliana.  I smiled to myself.  I liked that she was unpredictable.  As we entered my quarters, she was the first to speak as she rounded on me.

“Queen huh?  Something you would like to tell me?”  Her face was expressionless and I didn’t like that.

“I’m sorry Eliana.  I’m not sure why I didn’t tell you at first, but then I started having feelings for you.  Every female I have been with only cares about status.  They don’t really care about me.  I wanted you to want me no matter who I was, then it didn’t matter who I was.  I loved you and you said you loved me.  Nothing else mattered at the time.”  I looked at her and hoped she could see the honesty in my eyes.

“Queen huh?  Is this why Cadas asked about your father?  Oh God your fathers the King?  What if he doesn’t like me?  What is your mother doesn’t like me?  I think I’m going to be sick.”  She ran to the cleansing room.  I followed her there and held her hair while she emptied her stomach contents.  When she finished she washed her face and rinsed her mouth.  I took her hand and led her to the living quarters and sat her down.

“Eliana, my family will love you as I do.  It may take them a little time to adjust to the ideal of us because they have never met anyone like you.  Instead of waiting, I would like to have the ceremony here on the ship.  Madesh, our spiritual advisor can perform the ceremony.  I want you to feel secure in us when we reach my planet.”  I watched her reaction closely.  Her head was swimming. She kept thinking ‘he was a prince and he wanted her.  He would be King one day.  Could she live with that?  Oh God what would she do.  Suddenly she realized what he said.  Marry her now before we reach the planet.  Surely if they were married his father couldn’t do anything about it.’

“Zahin, if we complete the ceremony, can your father break it if he wants to?”  She asked.

“No, it’s for life Eliana.”  She already knew she couldn’t live without him.  If she went through with it then his father would have to accept it.

“Ok, let’s have the ceremony.”  My smile almost split my face.  I immediately got on my comm unit to make arrangements for the following night.  When I was finished, I carried her to bed and made love to her slowly.

     Later that evening we found our way to the commander’s private Galley.  It was only used when important guest were on board.  Tonight we met with Prince Pakhi and his high ranking crew.  We discussed the recent attacks of the Agrarians and how bold they were becoming.  It wasn’t like them at all.  Prince Pakhi kept glancing at Eliana, but never said anything.  It was a little disconcerting.  When dinner was over, the Vimana would be heading for Sukara.  We would reach our home planet in two moon cycles.

Tula

Chapter 19

     Zahin thinks he can have the joining ceremony on board and I will sit ideally by and do nothing, then he has another thing coming.  He will not be joining her tonight.  She giggled to herself.  Tula made her way down the corridor.  She had made sure that Zahin was tied up on the bridge as she made her way to his quarters.  That bitch had moved in with him.  She tried the code to his door.  The light turned green and the door slid open.  She knew he wouldn’t have thought to change it. He trusted her and Dar.  She slipped in as silently as possible.  As she made her way to his bedroom, she saw that the bitch was asleep on his bed.  That should be her sleeping there, but he’d never even let her spend the night.  As she made her way closer, she held out the syringe that was filled with Drenalphine.  It would sedate her, but she would still follow commands.  The Agrarians were waiting for her arrival.  She silently walked to the bed.  Eliana rolled over.  Tula was just about to inject her when Eliana woke up.  She started to scream, but Tula covered her mouth and jabbed the syringe in her neck.  Her eyes glazed over and she became slack.  After a few minutes, Tula told Eliana to get up.  She had to help pull her up, but she tried.  They slowly walked down to the emergency pods.  Tula made sure to take the corridors not traveled much so they didn’t encounter anyone.  When they reached the pods, Tula placed Eliana in one and programmed it to head for the Agrarian ship that was waiting.  A tear ran down Eliana’s cheek as she could comprehend what was going on, she just couldn‘t do anything about it.  Tula bent down so she was looking in Eliana’s eyes and said; “Don’t worry, I’ll be here to console him.”  Then she laughed and ejected her into space.

Zahin

      I was on the bridge getting updates and reports finished.  “Commander, an emergency pod has just been launched.”  Gadin said from his control panel.

“On screen.  Contact the E-Pod.”  I ordered.

“No response sir.”  The Commander watched the E-Pod getting further away.

“Do we know who is in the E-POD?”

“No sir.”  Ensign Gadin replied.

“We need to know who is in that E-Pod Ensign Gadin.  I want you to set a course to follow it and I want to know who is on it.  Understood?

“Yes Sir.”  Ensign Gadin said. 

“Dar to the Bridge.”  I said into my comm.

“On my way.”  Dar entered a few moments later.

“Dar, and E-Pod was launched.  We are in pursuit.  I can’t explain it, but I need to check on Eliana.  Keep me advised of any changes.”  I left the bridge.

     I made my way to my quarters.  I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.  As I reached my quarters I slowly made my way in.  I didn’t see anything out of place.  Eliana was normally still sleeping at this time since she required more sleep than normal.  I made my way to my room, but she was not there.  My body filled with dread.  I closed my eyes and dropped my head.  I almost knew she was In the E-Pod, but why? She wouldn’t just leave me would she?  As I opened my eyes, my head was still dropped and that’s when I spotted the syringe on the floor.  I bent down and picked it up.  As I looked at the syringe, understanding now what happened, I hurried out the door heading to medical.

     “CADAS!  CADAS WHERE ARE YOU?” I roared.  Cadas came running out of a room not sure what was happening.

“Commander?”

“Cadas, I need to know what was in this syringe.”  I handed it to Cadas and we made our way to some type of machine.  I had never learned anything about the medical equipment.

“It’s Drenalphine Commander.  I’m not sure how it’s possible because we keep it locked up here.”  Cadas said.  I knew exactly what Drenalphine was.  Why was it used on Eliana?  I needed answers and I would have them

“Cadas, who has been in medical in the last twenty four moon cycles?”  Cadas thought for a minute before answering

“Justyn was here.  So was Gannon, Saagar, Mitali, and Tula.”  My head was swimming.  Who knew losing someone could be so overwhelmingly devastating.  About that time Tula walked in.  She was all smiles.

“Hello Zahin.  How have you been?”  I glanced at her.

“Fine.”  I said absently.

“Would you like to go get second meal?”  She asked.

“No.”  I turned to leave but she grabbed my arm.  “Don’t touch me Tula!”  She flinched.

“Where are you headed Zahin?”

“To the control room.  I need to look at the surveillance footage and see who entered my quarters this morning.”  She paled, but he didn’t see her.  She excused herself and left immediately.  She had forgotten about the surveillance of his quarters.

     Sitting in the control room, he started with video that morning when he left his quarters.  What he saw astounded him.  Tula put in the door code and entered in.  A few minutes later she emerged with an obviously drugged Eliana.  He left the control room and headed for the Bridge.  Everyone he passed in the corridor moved immediately out of his was.  His anger was palpable by the time he entered the Bridge.

“Dar, how close are we to the E-Pod?”  I asked.

“We are getting closer, but there is an Agrarian ship that will intercept it first.”  Dar replied.

“See if Prince Pakhi is any closer and can intercept quicker than we can.”

“Yes Commander.”

“Saagar!”

“Yes Commander?”  Saagar replied.

“Find Tula.  I want to know where she is on the ship right now.”

“Yes Commander.”  He replied.

“I have located her commander, she is in the Galley.” 

“Thank you Saagar.  Justyn, Yaj, your both we me.”  The three of them left the Bridge.

     They entered the Galley and he found Tula eating with three different males.   They made their way over to her.  As she looked up and spotted Zahin, she grinned from ear to ear. 

“Hello Zahin.  Did you finally come to your senses?”  She smiled seductively at him.

“Tula, you are under arrest for the abduction of my intended.  Justyn, please take her into custody.”  The three males at the table scooted farther away.  Tula’s eyes grew big.

“What?  You can’t possibly think I had anything to do with that.”  She screeched.

“I saw the surveillance Tula.  Of course it was you.  You will be placed in a cell until judgement is passed…by me.”  She stepped back at the sheer vehemence in my voice.  I would make sure she never hurt Eliana again.  I headed back to the Bridge.

Eliana

Chapter 20

      “How does my life always get so messed up?”  I mumbled to myself.  I was in some kind of small ship, just big enough for me.  My mind was still groggy.  I couldn’t believe that Tula would do this.  What a bitch!  I wondered if Zahin even knew that I was missing.  Probably not since he was so busy today.  He was making plans for our joining ceremony tonight and our arrival on Sukara the next day, or moon cycle, whatever. 

      I heard a loud noise and my little ship jerked suddenly.  It felt like I was being pulled, but I couldn’t see anything.  Time seemed to pass slowly until finally the hatch of my little ship opened.  As I was dragged out, I screamed!  It was the green, slimy snake bastards!  Oh God, what was I going to do?  There were two Agrarians there, and each one grabbed an arm and dragged me down the corridor.  They threw me in a cell like room.  It was dark and I couldn’t see anything.  It was just like it was before.  I called out but nobody answered.  I sat down and drew my knees up to my chest and cried.

Zahin

     As I entered the Bridge, everyone could feel the anger radiating from me.  It was not something that was seen often, but it would make me a great ruler for I would fight for my people.

“Dar report!”  I said in a commanding tone.

“The Agrarians have intercepted the E-Pod.  They are traveling at a faster rate of speed than we are able to maintain.  The Chandra has agreed to help and will intercept the Agrarians before us.”

     I paced back and forth.  I have never felt so helpless in all my thirty cycles.  I had to believe that the Chandra would get there before anything could happen to Eliana.  We I got back to my planet, I would make sure that every ship was updated with the best technology so our ships would not have trouble keeping up.  Everyone on the Bridge was watching me with concern, but I didn’t care.  Everyone knew what the Agrarians were capable of, and if they didn’t get her back soon…

Eliana

Chapter 21

     It had been two days since I had been captured by the Agrarians.  I was still sitting in the dark.  They had not come back once to feed me, but I did have a water that was in my cell when I arrived.  I was afraid to drink it though because I couldn’t see it.  It felt like water when I accidently put my hand in it.  I had to urinate in the corner, but without drinking I didn’t have to worry about that now.  My arms were sore where they grabbed me and dragged me down to the cell.  I was sure they were bruised as well.  I didn’t know what they were going to do with me except sell me at the market.  Where was Zahin?  I felt like he was looking for me, but what if he couldn’t find me?  I would have cried if I had any tears left.  All I had been doing was crying lately.  I should be hungry, but I was nauseous instead.  Come to think of it, I had been nauseous even before I was taken.  I was very weak, so weak that I thought I’d just close my eyes and rest for just a few minutes.

     I woke with a start.  I wasn’t sure what had woken me so I sat very still and tried to listen.  I didn’t hear anything at first, but then I heard something outside the door.  When the door opened, I had to close my eyes because the light was so bright in my eyes.  After being in complete darkness for so long, any light seemed bright.  Someone leaned down and picked me up.  I wanted to scream, but I was just so tired. 

     When I woke up, I was lying on a soft bed.  I didn’t know where I was, and really didn’t care.  I was warm and comfortable.  I heard a door open, and when I turned to look I saw a tall blue male with short brown hair heading toward me.  It took me a few minutes to realize that it was Prince Pakhi.  He smiled at me.  I realized that this was the first time I had ever seen him smile.  He hadn’t even spoken to me on the Sukraian ship.

“I see you’re finally awake. “  He said with a smile.

“How long have I been here?” I whispered.  My throat hurt and it was hard to speak.

“You have been here two moon cycles.  You were very dehydrated so our healer gave you fluids and treated your bruises.  You were in bad shape.”  He said in a worried tone.

“Thank you.”  I was studying him.  He was very handsome and had a nice smile. 

“Why did you not speak to me when you were on Zahin’s ship?”  I curiously asked.  Everyone I had seen so far was very curious about me.  He seemed surprised to see me, but that was it.  As far as I knew he never even asked Zahin about me.

“I will answer your question momentarily.”  He smiled again.  “Do you feel well enough to get out of bed?”

“I think so.  Does Zahin know where I am?”  I missed him terribly.  I had been with him for over a month now and was used to him always being with me. 

“He does.  We will be meeting the Vimana in one moon cycle.”  He then held out his hand to help me stand.

     Prince Pakhi led me down the corridor.  My strength was rapidly returning and I was feeling much better.  As the door to his quarters opened, I walked in …and screamed!

“OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!  IS IT REALLY YOU?”  I ran and threw my arms around Adriana!  Tears were running down both of our faces, and Adriana was hugging me as tight as I was hugging her.

“I can’t believe that you are here!”  Adriana said excitedly.  After a few more minutes when the tears started to slow, she led me to a chair to sit down.  She sat on a couch and Prince Pakhi sat beside her and took her hand.

“I guess the green slimy snake bastards got you to.  I called out while they had me in my cell, but nobody answered.  I hoped you got away.”  I said with sadness in my voice.

“I would have but when I saw them shoot you and you fell down unmoving, I knew I couldn’t leave you.  So I came back running.  I had a stick in my hand and I planned to hit them with it.”  She giggled.  “I didn’t even get close to them.  They just shot me with the same thing they shot you with.  I woke up in a black cell as well.”

“And now you’re with Prince Pakhi?”  I said while staring at their entwined hands.  “That’s why you never asked any questions about me, because Adriana was here?”  I asked Prince Pakhi.

“Yes.”  He said.  “I knew who were you’re the first time I saw you.  Adriana had told me all about you and although I was surprised to see you, I had an idea about what had happened.”  One side of his mouth tipped up in a slight smile.  “When I came back to the Chandra, I told Adriana that you were on board their ship.  All she wanted to do was see you, but I finally convinced her that it was too dangerous.”

“And you two are together now?”

“Yes, but that’s another story, I want to hear how you ended up on an Agrarian ship.  Pakhi told me you were with Prince Zahin.  What happened?”  Adriana asked with such concern.

“I’m not sure what you know about the Sukaraians, but they are a very promiscuous race.” I smiled at her horrified look.  “There was this woman, or female as everyone is called, that wanted Zahin.  They use to have sex together and when we started dating she didn’t like it.  She drugged me while I was asleep in bed and put me in a small ship.  Next thing I knew, the Agrarians were the one that opened it.  They threw me in a cell just like before, except this time they didn’t give me any food.”  I said solemnly.

“What a bitch!”  Adriana yelled.

“Adriana.”  Pakhi said in a chastised tone.

“Sorry.”  She said looking at Pakhi.  I wondered what was going on.  I didn’t know anything about the Santarian culture. 

“Yeah, she is.  The day it happened was to be my wedding day.”  I said with sadness in my voice.

“What?  You’re getting married?  Oh my God!  Oh my God!”  Adriana shrieked.

“Yes I am, or was.”  I laughed

“I noticed the coil around your arm.”  Prince Pakhi said.  Then he hesitated. “I’m not sure if I should be the one to tell you this, but you are with young.”  He said softly.

“You mean I’m pregnant?”  I paled.

“I’m not sure what pregnant means, but you are with young.”  He said again.

“Wait, I can’t be pregnant, or with young, I have an implant in my arm that prevents that from happening.”  I almost panicked.

“When we did a medical scan on you there was no such device in your arm.”  Prince Pakhi replied.  I was starting to panic when Adriana put her arms around me.

“It will be Ok Eliana, you’re getting married anyway.”  She smiled a little.

“I’m so glad your hear Adriana.”  I was so sincere. 

“I’ve got work to do, so I will leave you females to talk.  I will return later.”  Prince Pakhi bent down a lightly kissed Adriana on the lips.

     We talked for hours until we both were exhausted.  I woke the next morning to find Adriana and Prince Pakhi having breakfast.  I rose to my feet and went to join them.  I needed to thank them for their hospitality. They didn’t know the burden I had carried not knowing what had happened to my friend.

     As I approached, they both smiled at me.  It was Prince Pakhi that spoke first.

“Eliana, I have talked with Adriana about you.  She told me that even though you were always good friends, you were always considered to be her family.  I would like to extend my protection to you if you ever need it.”  He handed me an object that looked like a white smooth stone.  “When you need my help, or you just need to talk to Adriana you can hold it like this and press.  Please do not tell anyone of this and please make sure you are alone if you need us.  I trust you because Adriana trust you.”  He smiled as I took the stone.

“Thank you.”  And I meant it.

“Now eat up, you are with young and Prince Zahin will be here soon.”

“Please don’t tell him I’m pregnant.  Let me do it in my own time.”

“Very well.”  He replied as they all ate First meal.